New Marijuana Study Demonstrates Lifelong Neurological Impact of Use

New Marijuana Study Demonstrates Lifelong Neurological Impact of Use

Published October 2012

The Author: Dan Tarlin is a clinical social worker and Licensed Alcohol & Drug Counselor at Westwood Lodge Hospital, where he directs the Partial Hospital Programs for children, adolescents, and adults. He has been working in the field for over twenty years and is a charter member of OASIS.

Persistent cannabis use was associated with neuropsychological decline broadly across domains of functioning, even after controlling for years of education. Informants also reported noticing more cognitive problems for persistent cannabis users. Impairment was concentrated among adolescent-onset cannabis users, with more persistent use associated with greater decline. Further, cessation of cannabis use did not fully restore neuropsychological functioning among adolescent-onset cannabis users.

To put it simply, regular marijuana use causes the brain to function worse as we get older, the more we use the worse the functioning will be, and stopping use later doesn’t fully restore functioning.

When we talk about marijuana use, though, we should be clear about the scale of the problem. No, it’s not as dangerous as heroin. Yes, many people use just once in a while and experience few negative consequences. Yes, alcohol is more dangerous in many ways. But marijuana is not health food; it’s bad for us in the way that tobacco cigarettes are bad for us- they won’t make us drop dead tomorrow, but they’ll hurt our general health down the road in many ways. So now add one more way to the list.